Ethical research
Ethics are the acceptable set of guidelines, principles, morals, and rules of conduct that should be adhered to in research (Alderson, 2000). According to the Belmont Report, for research to be considered ethical, the following has to be observed; participants should be treated with respect and autonomy, individuals shouldn’t be harmed, and the participants should be given a chance to choose what they want to be done to them in the research (Vollmer & Sara, 2010). Ethical research should assess the potential risks that are likely to be caused by the research, and these risks should be mitigated to ensure that the participants are not harmed. Proper research should involve a consent process that enables the participants to be aware of the nature of the research and what is expected (Neuman, 2006). Fair and just procedures should be followed in collecting data from the participants. The participants should be allowed to participate out of a free will and not under coercion. Confidentiality is vital in handling the participants‘ information, and such information should be kept private for research to be ethical. An example of unethical research is the Stanford Prison experiment that sought to establish social situations in prisons using simulations where college students were role players. The study used simulations to influence confidentiality, fairness, moral values, the behavior of the college students, and it did not address the potential risk of the study on the lives of the students, and the research was hence terminated (Zimbardo, Maslach, & Haney, 1999).
References
Alderson. (2000). Ethics in social research. Retrieved August Tuesday, 2020, from A guide into ethical considerations in social research: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/documents/00001481.htm
Neuman. (2006). An analysis of ethical standards in social research. Boston: Allyn & Bacon Publishers.
Vollmer & Sara. (2010). A study guide into the Belmont report on ethics in clinical research trials. Washington Dc: Washington Dc Press.
Zimbardo, Maslach, & Haney. (1999). The Stanford prison experiment used simulations and college students as role players, consequences, and transformations. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Publishers.